Mike Enzi, one of the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee
who has been a part of bipartisan negotiations with Max Baucus,
just released the following statement:
"Unfortunately, there are fundamental issues that we were not
able to resolve by the deadline that was set for us. I am
deeply disappointed that we could not take the time to find
ways to resolve these issues. The proposal released today still
spends too much, and it does too little to cut health care
costs for those with health insurance. At a time when our
nation faces a $9 trillion deficit, we should target assistance
to those in the greatest need without creating unsustainable
new entitlement programs.
"President Obama said that health reform must improve
competition in the insurance marketplace and lower health care
costs for those who currently have insurance. I agree, but this
bill does not go far enough toward achieving those goals. I
also believe that health care reform should not be built on
expanding the unsustainable Medicaid program, which 40 percent
of doctors will not accept. Coverage is worthless if you can't
see a doctor. If you have Medicare Advantage this bill could
reduce your coverage.
"I have other concerns. This is the most complicated bill any
of us have ever worked on. It affects about 16 percent of the
economy and 100 percent of the people. Those of us who have
spent months working on the hundreds of different areas can
appreciate the multiple moving parts and the effect getting it
wrong would have. Although there is a sense of urgency, getting
it done fast is not as important as getting it done correctly.
"While I cannot support the current proposal, I remain
committed to working on health care reform proposals that will
have broad bipartisan support. The best way to reform our
health care system is to do it step by step. That is how you
gain the trust of the American people. Let's start by focusing
on the issues where we already have broad, bipartisan
agreement."
